The Construction of Democratic Ideology and Institutional Identity in the Lyrics of the Song Mars KPU: An Analysis of Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse

Abstract

General elections in Indonesia often face a crisis of public trust that requires the KPU to strengthen its legal and cultural legitimacy. Using a qualitative approach and Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis method, this study aims to uncover the hidden meaning and ideological representation behind the lyrics of "Mars KPU". The results of the analysis show that this march is not just a ceremonial anthem, but a discursive text that is full of ideology and institutional power. In the micro dimension (text), diction and imperative sentences construct an authoritative, idealistic, and filial image of the KPU, while the pattern of overwording of moral vocabulary (fair, honest, clean) dampens the collective anxiety of the community. In the meso dimension (discourse practice), this march functions double as an indoctrination of the internal integrity of the KPU as well as a massively distributed public participatory persuasion. In the macro (sociocultural) dimension, this discourse responds to the need of contemporary political history for a clean democracy to legitimize state power. In addition, the discourse acts as an instrument of cultural hegemony and the state's ideological apparatus in shaping the Indonesian national community. This research proves that institutional march functions strategically as a discursive instrument in the formation of institutional identity.